Landon Payne
Landon Payne was killed in the custody of the Lane County jail staff – sworn deputies and contract health care workers – March 27, 2020 after an altercation and arrest by Eugene Police officers Andrew Roberts, Jacob Thomas and Jairo Solorio. The arrest included a force takedown and multiple Taserings. He was in a mental health crisis and his wife had called 911 for assistance. Payne had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for a civil case, but was not suspected of committing a crime. He was not a threat to himself or others. The Lane County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as a lack of oxygen to his brain after he suffered a cardiac arrest “during restraint by law enforcement.”
DA Orders Release of Body Cam Footage – by Camilla Mortensen – Eugene Weekly, July 22, 2021
Lane County District Attorney’s Office has ordered the city of Eugene and the Eugene police to release body worn camera footage of the arrest of a man who died in law enforcement custody.
Oregon newspaper challenges police department’s refusal to release bodycam footage – rcfp.org – July 2021
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press attorneys are representing Eugene Weekly in its effort to access body-cam videos documenting an arrest.
READ – Pubic records petition, Lane County DA opinion on: Eugene Weekly v City of Eugene (PDF)
A Hidden Death – by Ardeshir Tabrizian – Eugene Weekly, July 22, 2021
Last year a Eugene man was arrested during a mental health crisis. He died two days after deputies knelt on his back at the Lane County Jail.
An Extended Interview With Ardeshir Tabrizian On The Death Of Landon Payne – KLCC.org, July 2021
Eugene man with mental illness dies after being taken into police custody – OPB.org, August 2021
In March of 2020, Landon Payne stopped breathing after officers restrained him at a Lane County jail. Oregon was two weeks into a statewide shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Payne’s wife Angie had originally called the Eugene Police Department when he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Two of the three officers who first responded did not have mandatory crisis intervention training and made a series of decisions that Angie Payne says led directly to her husband’s death.
‘I cannot breathe’: Lane County deputies kneeled on man for 2 minutes, lawsuit says – Eugene Register Guard, March 28, 2020
READ – Payne v. Eugene – Demand for Jury Trial